Confession
by Holyknightsteve
Summary: The night before the battle to stop Nerifes and save Shirley, Senel and Chloe share a heart to heart conversation and confess something profound to one another... SenelXChloe


A/N: ...well... I TRIED submitting the idea for a ToL section a couple of months ago. I guess they just now got the message but didn't bother adding the story I submitted. Argh...

Anyway, nothing terribly ground-breaking here. Just a little something about SenelXChloe. Hope y'all enjoy it!

Note: This fic is based on my beating the main quest but not the character quests. Of course, this is all a moot point since the scene mentioned in this fic is changed anyway.

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**_Confession _**

Senel half sat, half leaned against the fountain in the main plaza of Werites Beacon. The dim glow of the street lights and the moon and stars above cast an almost artistic splash of dark colors upon the cold water. The scene was quiet, peaceful… nice. Senel normally wasn't much for environments like this but he had to admit that liked it.

Now all that was missing from it was his friends.

He sighed. "Where are they? I'm the only one here and I've been waiting for a while. Hmph. So much for Norma's big party. That hare-brained-"

"Coolidge?" said a familiar voice.

Senel stopped dead in the middle of his rant to look toward the source of the voice. "Huh? Chloe?"

She walked toward him and nodded. "So you're here. I didn't hear anything going on up here and I was afraid that I was going to be the only person here." Trying to fight a blush, she added, "I'm glad you're here."

Senel smiled sincerely. "I'm glad you're here too Chloe."

Returning the smile, she walked past him and to the edge of the fountain where she promptly took a scene. "So where's everyone else anyway? They were all supposed to be here by now. I thought that at least Norma would show up since this was her idea after-all."

Senel shrugged and looked up. "Who knows? Knowing Norma, she's probably caught up in some goofy sort of trouble."

Chloe giggled. "She's something else, isn't she?"

"Heh, yeah," said Senel with a chuckle.

Still smiling, Chloe shook her head. "Oh well. I kind of like better like this."

Senel looked at her. "Eh? How's that?"

"Um, uh… nevermind." She shook her head again. "I-I meant that it's a bit more peaceful like this, y'know?"

He nodded. "I know what you mean. Never was into big social events anyway." He laughed. "It's funny. At first, I hated traveling with you guys. I was pretty much a loner before I met all of you. When it came to taking care of Shirley, I refused to let anyone else help." Senel took a seat not far from Chloe on the edge of the fountain. "In fact, when we first fled our village, I refused to have us stay with someone. We had found an abandoned cottage and made that our home. It was just the two of us living there."

Chloe turned to him, surprised. "What? But that means that you were only fourteen then and Shirley was twelve! You were living together at that young an age."

He nodded. "Yeah. I didn't trust anyone else. At the time, I had more faith in me taking care of us as opposed to trusting some stranger to give us help."

Chloe lowered her head. "No wonder you were always so eager to get away from us in the beginning."

"Chloe…"

She looked back at him with a small smile. "It's okay. Given the circumstances and what happened in the past I can't blame you for feeling the way you did. Besides, that was then. This is now." Trying to hide the fact that she was turning red, she looked away when she said, "I-I think we've formed a pretty strong bond now, don't you?"

He smiled. "Yeah, I do. I'm glad I met all of you, especially you Chloe."

"E-especially me?" Now she couldn't hide her embarrassment any longer. Giving in to it, she looked at Senel once again, her cheeks a crimson red. "W-why me?"

He shrugged. "I don't know exactly. I do know that I feel more secure with you around. You're always there to guard my back when I need it and you're always the first to charge into the fray with me. We've also shared many memorable moments together in such a short time and… well, I don't know. That's just how I feel."

"Coolidge…" She lowered her head briefly before raising it again to say, "I feel the same way." Her smile brightened. "I was so glad to hear you say all of that."

He nodded and looked up at the night sky. "It's hard to believe that our journey is almost at an end."

She nodded. "Yeah…"

He sighed. "I really wonder if I can get through to Shirley."

"Coolidge?"

He looked down and shook his head. "To tell you the truth, I'm not sure if can get her to come back to us. She… seemed so lost to us last time. She's was willing to hurt all of us for the sake of the Ferines. I know it's not actually _her_ fault, but…" He paused. "…the 'new' Shirley has been overcome by her duty as the Merines. Does she re-creating the cataclysm?" Another pause. "Is it hopeless for me to get the old Shirley back?"

Chloe placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Coolidge, of course it isn't! How can you even say that?"

He closed his eyes. "She needs to trust me. I'm not sure if she can do that. Hell, I can't even trust myself." His eyes opened slowly. "I can't properly express what she means to me as a person."

"Then open your heart to her!" yelled Chloe.

He looked at her, surprised. "Chloe?"

She grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him fully towards him. "Listen to me Coolidge. If you want to have any hope of bringing her back, you have to open up your heart to her. It doesn't matter how you say what you feel. What matters is that you try. I've… seen you when you're sincere."

"What do you mean?"

Her features softened up despite her trying to keep a stern appearance. "I can see it in your eyes. Even when you don't have the right words, I can tell what you're thinking and feeling. I believe that I know you THAT well."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Really. In fact…" Her eyes began to water. "I… I know you so well that it… it hurts."

"Chloe? Why are you-"

She turned away as the first tear began to run down her soft cheek. "S-Shirley's really lucky to have someone like you at her side. I have no doubt in my heart that you'll make her happy. I'll do…" Now there was no stopping the tears. They flowed freely and greatly. "I'll do everything in my power to help you get her back."

"Chloe…" Just as she had done before, he placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her slowly toward him. She had put up only slight resistance, unsure of what to say or do now. "Chloe, Shirley means the world to me, but… not like that. Whether there's true blood or between us doesn't matter. She'll always be my sister."

Chloe buried her face into Senel's shoulder as she continued to sob. "W-why! Are you stupid!"

He lifted her chin so that her reluctant gaze met his. "Because you're the one that I care about like that."

She stopped sobbing long enough to stutter, "W-what do you m-mean?"

He smiled. "I mean just what I said. This'll sound weird coming from me, but… I love you Chloe."

Chloe pulled a bit away and stared at him, unbelieving of what he just said. "Coolidge! I-I… I mean, you… uh…"

He closed his eyes, his expression unchanging. "Are you disappointed?"

She didn't know what to say but let her heart speak for her, just as she had said earlier. "Cooli-… Senel…" Unable to contain herself, she threw her arms around Senel sobbed happily as she rested her head on his chest. "I don't know what to say. I… I'm so happy right now. For the first time in five years, I'm truly happy." She paused and raised her head. "But what about Shirley?"

He shook his head. "Like I said, she's my sister. We both understand that. In fact… she already knows how I feel about you."

Her cheeks flushed immediately. "S-she does?"

He nodded. "Of course she does." He smiled. "Siblings share everything."

"Senel..." she laid her head back down on Senel's chest and sighed. "I wish we could stay like this forever. I feel so strong when I'm with you." One last tear rolled down her damp cheek as she said "I love you Senel."

He acknowledged her confession by holding her closer to him. "It feels good to hear that. Thanks."

Rustling in the bushes nearby could be heard, causing the two warriors to break away and immediately jump up. "Who's there!" they said in unison as they readied themselves.

"Moses! How could you eavesdrop on them?" Before they could even begin to wonder what was going on, Moses came tumbling out of the bushes. After stumbling for a bit, he fell flat on his face. Not long afterward, Norma came walking out of the bushes, shaking her head all the while. "Shame on you Red!"

Senel and Chloe each took a step back. "Moses! You were-" they said once again in unison.

The irritated Moses stood up and pointed at Norma. "What're you talkin' 'bout Bubbles? You're the one that dragged me here!"

"Norma?" said Senel and Chloe in the same fashion as before.

"W-what?" said Norma hesitantly. She pointed at Moses. "Don't listen to him! He's full of it!"

Moses stomped his right foot. "You're the one that's full of it!"

"You were spying on us?" asked Senel. Chloe merely turned away in embarrassment.

"Um… uh…" mumbled Norma.

"Err… ehehe…" mumbled Moses.

Senel lowered his head. "You two, geez…"

Trying to change the subject, Norma waved her hands around wildly as she always did. "It's about time you woke up and noticed C, Senny! I was beginning to think that you were more stupid than Red here!"

Moses stomped again. "Hey!"

Ignoring him, she continued. "Do you have ANY idea how long C has liked you Senny?"

Chloe turned around, desperate to shut Norma up. "Norma!"

"Uh… I guess I don't," said Senel sheepishly.

Moses nodded. "Oh come on man! It was painfully obvious! Everyone could see it!"

"Not you too Moses!" cried Chloe.

He laughed. "Maybe you're dumber than you look Senel!"

"Hey!" said Senel defensively.

Norma giggled. "Gee Red. You were THIS close to losing your title of 'dumbest member of the party'!"

Moses pointed a clenched fist at Norma. "Bubbles, you're really starting to tick me off!"

Norma turned back to the young warriors and smiled. "Come on, no need to be bashful! We know all now so there's no use in acting like you don't want to be close to each other. So come on! Let's see a hug!"

Chloe and Senel turned to each other. Knowing that Norma was right, the hesitation was brief before the two came together and hugged wordlessly, for their expressions they wore told all.

Moses pumped his fist. "Alright! Just like a happy family now!"

Norma clasped her hands together and looked upward. "How sweet! Now let's see a big kiss!"

Senel and Chloe smiled at each other then turned to Norma. "Nosy brat," they said in unison.

Norma stomped. "Hey!"

Moses chuckled. "Ha ha ha! I've been waitin' to hear that for a while now!"

Norma pointed at Moses. "Red! I oughta-"

"What's going on here?" asked Will as he, Jay, and Grune walked up the steps toward the plaza.

"Nothing!" yelled Norma and Moses at the same time.

Without saying another word, the young lovers held hands and laughed.

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Alright! All done! I hope you liked it! I hope to write more for ToL eventually but I have some other stuff to take care of first. Any and all reviews are welcome, and I thank you in advance for them.


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